Updates and Newsletters: The main news stories from the major sources, selected, compiled, and occasionally commented on by Michael Novakhov ("Mike Nova") | Public RSS Feeds on the various topics of Global Security | Topics oriented news reviews

Belgian police made several arrests Saturday following a tense confrontation between right-wing protesters and anti-racist youth in Brussels. A far-right group had planned a demonstration in Molenbeek, a predominantly Muslim neighborhood where a number of the November 2015 Paris attackers had been based. An anti-racist group had called for a counterdemonstration. Both groups were banned by local authorities, who feared a repeat of last Sunday's disturbance when police fired water...

The flow of refugees and migrants on the Arctic route through Russia is tiny, compared with other routes. But it has added anxiety, not to mention intrigue, to a crisis that is tearing the European Union apart.

An attack by an unmanned U.S. aircraft in Somalia has killed a senior member of the al-Shabab militant group, a U.S. official with knowledge of the operation said Friday. The victim of the U.S. drone attack, Hassan Ali Dhore, led a team of al-Shabab assassins, Somali officials said. He was named by the Somali government last year on a "most-wanted" list of 12 al-Shabab members involved in terror attacks in Mogadishu. At the U.S. Defense Department, press secretary Peter Cook...

Men lounge on concrete slabs a few meters from the barbed-wire-topped chain-link fence that surrounds this center in Lesbos, Greece. It was once a refugee camp. But now the inhabitants are more like inmates, unable to leave if they chose to. Police watch passers-by warily, occasionally shooing away the occasional journalist or aid worker who stays too long. I say “good evening” in Arabic as I walk by one group. At least five young men jump up, eager to talk, despite my limited language skills. “What is going to happen to us?” asks Mohammad. He’s heard hundreds of people will be plucked from this camp and deported to Turkey in the coming days as part of the European Union’s plan to reduce migrant flows. From there, where will they go? A Turkish “camp” where they will be locked inside? Will he be sent back to his home city, Der Ezzor, an Islamic State stronghold where he surely will be killed? I don’t know, either, so I ask the group what they think will happen. “I’m going to Germany, or Austria or Sweden,” one man calls out through the fence. “My house in Syria was destroyed. There is nothing there for me.” Determined to go They know the border to Macedonia is closed, and they know Western Europe is trying to stop migrants. But like more than a million people who came before them, they still want to go, despite the obstacles. But with literally no information, they are not sure what the next step is. One man has an idea. “What is the name of this island?” asks Abdulrahman, Mohammad’s younger brother. Several men chime in. “And the area is called Moria?” one man asks. I tell them this is Lesbos island, whose main city is Mytilini, and confirm that they are indeed in Moria. I hear one man quickly get on his mobile phone to report his whereabouts. He asks me to write the names in Arabic so he won’t forget. Security forces now run the camp after most aid organizations quit in protest of the European Union-Turkey deal aimed at curbing the migration of refugees toward Europe. The inhabitants, all here for several days already, do not even know where they are. Right now, they are more concerned with where they are going. Graffiti outside the camp read: “No human is illegal” and “Stop deportation now!” New arrivals Last fall, new arrivals in Lesbos would report to the camp to get papers, and then get on a boat to Athens as soon as possible, the next leg of their journey toward Western Europe. Passports were barely checked, and the process was swift. Refugees often chose to sleep by the port for a night or two, rather than in the camp about 10 kilometers away. The streets and shops were packed with refugees and other migrants. After the terrorist attacks in Paris in November, lax security in Greece was roundly condemned. Now refugees arrive in a more orderly — if frightening — fashion. Many boats are intercepted by the Greek coast guard, and refugees are brought directly to the port where they load onto buses to the camp. Those who reach the shore are met by the buses shortly after their arrival. “Can you imagine coming across the sea on a rubber boat and being met by a warship?” asks Fabenne Fahrni, a volunteer for Swiss Cross, as she stands on the beach scanning the sea for arriving rubber boats to provide passengers with such things as emergency blankets and dry socks. Like other volunteers, she and her colleague, Simon Gerber, stay on the beach in shifts of up to 12 hours, hoping to help the people that they can, while they can. “It’s not humanitarian,” says Gerber, echoing the sentiment of aid workers worldwide, including the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the French aid agency Doctors Without Borders — all repelled by the deportation plan, yet unable to stop it. Harsh conditions At the camp, police let me talk for about 20 minutes before they insist I move along. The men say hundreds of new people are arriving daily, crowding the packed center that already holds thousands. Some new arrivals say they sleep in rooms with as many as 50 people squished up against each other. Others sleep outside because the rooms are full. Mohammad shows me his lower leg, slightly crooked, swollen and decidedly purple. “From the war,” he says, showing me the medicine the camp doctor gave him, the medicinal equivalent of an aspirin. Other men chime in with a cacophony of health concerns. Rebaz shows me a doctor’s note detailing the prescribed follow-up on the brain tumor operation he received in Kurdish Iraq. If this man goes back, it’s not just the war that may end his life. The harsh conditions, however, are the least of their concerns. They expected the journey to be difficult and expensive, but after Europe accepted so many people last year, they did not expect the West to turn its back on them now. I did not get a chance to ask them how they feel about the refugee policy of the United States, which granted asylum to fewer than 2,000 Syrians in 2015. “We cannot return,” says Mohammad. “Islamic State militants took everything. Everything is gone. They are cutting off heads.”

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian addressed the National Security Council in Yerevan on April 2 after fighting erupted in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh inside Azerbaijan. Sarkisian said that 18 Armenian soldiers had been killed and more than 30 wounded in the fighting. Military and civilian casualties have been reported on both sides. Sarkisian ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cooperate with authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh and prepare a treaty on mutual military...

Donald Trump, the American billionaire Republican Party presidential front-runner, says he does not disagree with those who say abortion is "murder." In a interview with the CBS news program Face the Nation to be aired Sunday, Trump says he has his own opinion on the issue, but would rather not comment on it. Excerpts from the interview were released Friday. Controversial positions Earlier in the week, Trump shocked many when he said if abortions were outlawed, women...

Russian Deputy Chief of Staff Col-Gen. Nikolai Bogdanovski heads a military delegation due in Israel Monday to discuss with his counterpart IDF Deputy C-of-S Maj. Gen. Yair Golan the adjustments necessary to make in the coordination arrangements between the two armies and air forces, in view of Moscow’s deployment of two advanced missiles systems to Syria. The Iskander-M tactical missilewas recently installed at the Hmeimim air base near Latakia alongside the S-400 air defense system, as DEBKAfile reported exclusively Saturday, April 2.

The Russian defense minister Friday put on a plane to Palmyra an army unit based at the Chkalovsky near Moscow that specializes in clearing mines. The unit is assigned to defuse the mines, explosives, IEDs and booby-traps rigged in buildings, which the Islamic State left behind when they were driven out of the Syrian heritage city last week after a 10-month occupation.

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The Nusra Front boasted of its offensive on social media, posting videos showing mortars and tanks firing on what is said to be government positions. Syria's state news agency acknowledged fierce battles in the area and authorities also released video of clashes on the ground.

The leaders of more than 50 nations who met in Washington about nuclear security and terrorism agreed on the actions they will take together to reduce the risks facing the world, but President Barack Obama says the hard work starts now, building on the summit's accomplishments. The global effort to keep nuclear materials secure has made important progress, Obama told Americans Saturday. "As terrorists and criminal gangs look around for the deadly ingredients for a nuclear device,...

At least two children were hospitalized in Stepanakert, the main city of Nagorno-Karabakh, after clashes erupted on April 2. Both the Azerbaijani and Armenian militaries accused the other side of starting the fighting in the disputed region inside Azerbaijan. Both sides are reporting military and civilian casualties. (Reuters)

French President Francois Hollande’s comments this week in Washington about Islamic terrorism -- a term President Obama won’t use -- were omitted from an official White House video.

Holland made the comments at an international summit in Washington on nuclear security that also focused largely on global terrorism.

“We are also making sure that between Europe and the United States there can be a very high level coordination. But we’re also well aware that the roots of terrorism, Islamist terrorism, is in Syria and in Iraq. We therefore have to act both in Syria and in Iraq, and this is what we’re doing within the framework of the coalition. …” Hollande said following a meeting at the summit between his and Obama’s top officials.

However, an audio gap occurs in the original White House video where the French-to-English translator would have said: “Islamist terrorism, is in Syria and in Iraq. We therefore have to act both in Syria and in Iraq, and this is what we’re doing within the framework of the coalition.”

The gap was reported first by the Media Research Center, a conservative-leaning government watchdog group.

Republicans and others have been highly critical of Obama, and Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, for not saying the words “Islamic terrorism” when talking about the Islamic State terror group, which has claimed responsibility for the recent, deadly bombing attacks in Paris and Brussels.

“For seven years, President Obama, and Hillary Clinton and this administration have been sound bound up by political correctness that they have refused to acknowledge what is it is we are fighting, refused to even name it,” GOP presidential candidate Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told FoxNew on Sunday.

“After every one of these attacks, the president does a national TV conference where he refuses to say the words ‘radical Islamic terrorism.’ Instead he lectures Americans on Islamophobia. Well, enough is enough.”

The White House told several news outlets on Friday the audio gap was the result of a "technical issue" not an attempt to scrub or censor Hollande’s comments and that an updated video with the complete audio was posted on WhiteHouse.gov soon after the problem was recognized.

Officials also said the official transcript posted on the website always included the dropped sentences.

Obama has said that he will not use the words “radical Islamic terrorists” because they legitimize the efforts of the Islamic State, to which he refers as ISIS.

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) -- Heavy fighting erupted Saturday between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan said 12 of its soldiers were killed and claimed to have inflicted heavy casualties on the Armenian forces....

President Barack Obama is calling on the international community to work urgently to ensure that nuclear weapons do not get into the hands of terrorists or others who want to do harm. Obama closed his fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit on Friday without meeting a key goal: securing the world’s vulnerable nuclear materials. VOA White House correspondent Mary Alice Salinas reports.

A Belgian national was charged Saturday with terrorist activities in the investigation of a foiled attack plot. French and Belgian authorities apprehended the suspect Thursday and have identified him only as "Y.A." He is reported to be in his early to mid-30s. Prosecutors say he is linked to the case of Reda Kriket who was arrested near Paris last week and is suspected of plotting a violent attack. No specific target was identified for the attack, but authorities say a cache of weapons was found in Kriket's home. Extradition can go ahead On Thursday, Belgian prosecutors said the top suspect in the November terrorist attack on Paris can be extradited to France. French Justice Minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas said Thursday he expects Salah Abdeslam to be sent to Paris within 10 days. Abdeslam's lawyer, Cedric Moisse, said his client agrees to be extradited. "Abdeslam wants to make it known that he wants to cooperate with the French authorities. These are the words he wants to make known." Another one of his lawyers said after his March 18 arrest that Abdeslam would fight extradition to France. It is unclear why he changed his mind. Abdeslam is accused of helping plan the November 13 terror attacks in Paris that killed 130 people at multiple locations. He allegedly rented rooms for the suicide bombers and bought explosives. After four months on the run, police found him in Brussels. During a raid on another dwelling, they had uncovered evidence that he was hiding out in Brussels. Investigators also say Abdeslam is linked to Khalid and Ibrahim el Bakraoui, the brothers who took part in last week's suicide bombings in Brussels that killed 32 people.

Brussels airport remained closed for passenger flights on April 1, as airport authorities and police could not agree on how to screen passengers arriving for flights following the March 22 suicide bombings.

»Mass Grave Found in Syria's Palmyra02/04/16 09:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Officials in Syria say the army has found a mass grave in Palmyra. Authorities say the grave contained at least 40 bodies, including women and three children. Some of the bodies had been ...

»Links to News Sites01/04/16 19:19 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from NEWS: The World and Global Security Review. The World Web Times – worldwebtimes.com The World Web Times – World News Review – wwtimes.com: News, Analysis, Opinions The World Web Times – Markets and Busines...

»Russia in Review01/04/16 14:14 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - US-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism. April 1, 2016 Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nucle...

»GE wants Fed off its back31/03/16 12:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from ReutersVideo's YouTube Videos. From: ReutersVideo Duration: 01:09 GE asked the Federal Reserve to strip it of its designation as a "systemically important financial institution" that's seen as "too big...

»The Early Edition: March 31, 201631/03/16 11:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from Just Security. Nadia O'Mara Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news. EUROPEAN TERROR THREAT Fayçal C...

»Donald Trump: 'NATO is very obsolete'30/03/16 21:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from www.washingtontimes.com stories: Security. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said Monday that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is "very obsolete" and that the United States bea...

»Editorials from around New York30/03/16 21:24 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from www.washingtontimes.com stories: Security. Recent editorials of statewide and national interest from New York's newspapers: The Journal News on the Lower Hudson Valley's response to North Carolina's anti-g...

»Headlines - 3:49 PM 3/30/201630/03/16 16:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from NEWS: The World and Global Security Review. Mr. Trump’s Dangerous Babble on Foreign Policy - The New York Times U.S. to deploy armored brigade combat teams to Europe | Reuters America Needs Frank Talk on I...

»The Early Edition: March 28, 201630/03/16 16:25 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from Just Security. Megan Graham Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news. PAKISTAN At least 72 people we...

»The Early Edition: March 29, 201630/03/16 16:25 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from Just Security. Nadia O'Mara Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news. PAKISTAN A number of arrests h...

»The Early Edition: March 30, 201630/03/16 16:24 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from Just Security. Nadia O'Mara Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news. CYBERSECURITY, PRIVACY and TEC...

»Web Cams Take You Where You Can't Go30/03/16 15:36 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Two bald eagles recently hatched out of their shells and into the hearts of millions of people who watched their arrival in real time via the Internet, thanks to a pair of high-definition...

»Blood Test Detects Concussions30/03/16 14:46 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from Voice of America. A new blood test has been developed to tell doctors whether someone has had a concussion up to a week after the injury. Head trauma symptoms can often be subtle, and even delayed, especi...

»Photos of the Day: March 2930/03/16 10:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from WSJ.com: World News. In photos chosen Tuesday by Wall Street Journal editors, the Vietnam War is remembered, oil is cleaned up in Taiwan, children play at the Greek-Macedonian border and more.